Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Owl & Weasel Wednesday #25 April 1977

Here we are, at the end of all things. Err. Not really. It is April, 1977 and this is the last issue of Owl & Weasel. I missed noting last issue's price increase to 20p. It could have just been for the double sized issue, but the increase remains here. Maybe it is the special Silver Jubilee price.

Our editorial details the end of Owl & Weasel and the start of White Dwarf. Well at least overtly. It is loaded with a bunch faked melodrama that frankly I would have been happier not reading. I am going to chalk it up to actual emotion and the separation of an entire ocean and nearly 38 years.

The index for the Article Competition is up and on page 3. Ian Livingstone spends some time talking about them and mentioning that they will be looking for more material like this for White Dwarf.

Page 5 covers various news items. One item mentions the Dungoneer magazine. That is one I would like to cover sometime too, but I am missing some issues and the ones I am missing tend to be quite expensive on eBay when they show up.

Page 6 is the "Big Reveal" of the White Dwarf contents and cover. Of course at they only have an artist mock up and it doesn't look like how the magazine will later look. But that is ok. They talk about what they will be doing; D&D articles, society news, letters and "The Other World" a section on non-SF/F gaming. That never really happened. They also talk about what they are looking for in terms of contributions.

Pages 7 and 8 cover D&D Society news including more names and addresses.

Next up we actually have some content. There is a review of FGU's Gladiators game. It is a board game, with no board or pieces. Seems a bit odd to me.

Next up is a reader contribution on what makes an interesting dungeon. The advice is solid, if a bit dated. Make sure it is interesting, has some traps, some new monsters...that sort of thing. It is 1977, benefit of the doubt here. The next page is another reader contribution. This time about how to store counters for games. No Container Stores or Ikea's yet in England of 1977 I am guessing.

We end the issue with the Games Workshop price lists.

Wow. What a run. I have a few more things in mind for White Dwarf Wednesday; mostly book keeping sort of things. But I Really hope you have enjoyed all of this. 125 issues of both White Dwarf and Owl & Weasel. It's been a great deal of fun.